Little By Little
by JitterJabberwock
Summary: Leo isn't one to say when he feels bad, despite how bad he truly feels. He manages to steer clear of Elliot's suspicions, until it becomes a little too much and escalates to something more dangerous than just a cold. (Squint really hard and you may see some Ellio, but it's mostly just fluffy stuff. Hope you enjoy! ALERT! Elliot and Leo do swear quite a bit.)
1. Chapter 1

**Before hand AN: This is my first fanfiction that I am brave enough to publish. (Because I have no faith in myself as a writer) So constructive criticism is very much welcome here :3**

 **~Alyss**

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Leo pulled the blanket over his head with an internal hiss at the light leaking through the pale curtains. He was normally alert in the morning, this morning was different. He had hissed at the light like a damned vampire or something. His ears were ringing if he looked at the light, his head ached like he was beat with a blunt object. He concluded that he was probably sick, or at least coming down with something. He could hear Elliot shuffling around the room, well he was already awake. He curled up into a ball and made sure the blanket made a nice thick, dark layer of darkness over his eyes so the light was invisible to him. This will be a nice sleep. Nice and quiet.  
Now _that_ didn't last long. Elliot clicked his tongue and yanked the blanket off Leo, annoyed with him for not getting up.

"Get your lazy butt up, Leo." He scowled at the pyjama clad, raven haired mop top of a servant. Okay maybe not, he was his servant, but also Elliot's only friend. Leo just mumbled and pushed his pillow into his face.

"We need darker curtains…" Leo mumbled from the pillow's softness. Elliot sighed in irritation.

"Get up or I will drag you out of bed." He stated, his irritation rising. Also beginning to chip at Leo's irritation. Leo did absolutely nothing to indicate that he planned on moving any time soon.

Both of them had potentially the _worst_ tempers you'd ever come across. The difference between them was that Elliot had a shorter fuse than Leo. But Leo's temper was much more frightening.  
Funny to think about it, being that Leo was only 5'5" and looked like a messy-haired, dorky child, but his temper was like raising the depths of hell.

"I. Said. Get. UP!" Elliot yelled, yanking the sheet underneath Leo and bringing him to the floor; rather uncomfortably… Leo cursed silently, coughed from the sudden shock, and rubbed his head. His ears rang like a siren was wailing in them. He pushed against the bed for support to stand up as he looked for his overly large glasses, putting them on his face with a sigh. He then glared at Elliot from under his thick hair and the large framed glasses.

"I was about to get up, you idiot." He scoffed at Elliot. Elliot's eye twitched in irritation.

"You were going to lay there all day, there _are_ classes today, y'know?" Elliot scowled, actually maintaining his composure for once. Mainly because he could feel Leo staring him down from behind two layers of obscurity. "Just get ready." He said, turning away and leaving their dorm room. Leo sighed in slight irritation before looking around by his bed. Books. Nothing but books surrounding his bed. He picked up a small stack that he needed to return to the library, six or seven books. He got dressed then grabbed the stack of books. Elliot was waiting on the second set of stairs.

"Took you long enough." Elliot said, his scowl not as harsh. "The hell do you have those for?" He asked, eyeing the stack that the smaller male had in his arms.

"I need to return these ones today." He said, walking down the stairs and onto the platform for the second set.

"You couldn't just bring half and get the other half at lunch or something?" He asked, still eyeing the stack of books.

"Nah… Might as well get over with it now." Leo smiled, his balance wobbled as he stepped on the first step. Falling. Elliot caught him with enough force to knock his glasses off, but not to stop him from falling, the two tumbling down the stairs.

Elliot cursed at the pain shooting through his back from landing on it down a flight of stairs. Leo was half on him, his black hair covering his face completely. Elliot sat up and cracked his neck and rubbed his shoulder.

"Hey, Leo… You okay?" He asked, actually concerned. Leo grumbled a curse and sat up, rubbing his head. He looked okay.

"Where'd my glasses go?" he mumbled, seeing the shattered and bent frames in front of him. He groaned and stood to get them, pressing against the ground. Elliot's eyes widened when he seen a small smear of blood in the shape of Leo's tiny hand. Leo picked up his glasses and sighed. _These were my back-up glasses too…_ He thought.

"Leo!" Elliot exclaimed, making Leo flinch and drop the already broken glasses, totalling the glasses completely. That definitely knocked his irritation up a notch.

"What?" Leo groaned at him, doing his best to not yell at him and turning to face him. Elliot grabbed Leo's face and moved his thick black hair from his face. Leo gave him a questioning look as to why Elliot looked so concerned.

"You're bleeding." Was all Elliot said, he was right. Leo's forehead had a cut on it from a shard of his glasses and was bleeding profusely. Elliot pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and held it onto the wound. "Keep it there." He said, standing up and collecting the books that were dropped. Leo blinked, a bit confused. He knew Elliot worried about him from time to time, but not _this_ much…

 _Is it that bad? Is he worried I'm going to pass out from blood loss?_ Leo silently questioned to himself and moved the handkerchief from his forehead to see all the blood on it. _…Okay I get it that is a lot of blood…_ He sighed and put it back to his forehead, watching Elliot picking up the books. Everything in Leo's vision suddenly blacked out. But for a moment, he came back to Elliot shaking him by the shoulder.

"Leo. Leo! Answer me!" Elliot said, his voice was loud, not yelling and laced with concern. Leo blinked at him as his vision returned to him.

"What?" Leo questioned, looking at the taller male's concerned look. Elliot seemed to be scanning over Leo's face to make sure there was nothing wrong besides the obvious forehead wound.

"You weren't responding to me, you spaced out or something…" Elliot said, frowning a bit. Before helping Leo stand, then picking up the stack of books. _Did I space out? That didn't seem like I spaced out… Blacked out is a better term to use for it… Though I didn't collapse it seems… So maybe… Something else?_ He silently questioned to himself, getting lost in his thoughts again. He jumped nearly a foot when he felt a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his daze once more. Elliot was scowling at him, but the shorter male could see the concern in his master's eyes. _Why the hell are you worrying about me?_ Leo mumbled inaudibly, walking a decent pace behind Elliot. He normally didn't get this immersed in his thoughts, but he was spacing out way more than his normal.

Elliot was talking to Leo, but he was so spaced out he didn't hear a single word. Not even snapping out of it until he bumped into Elliot.

"Why the hell are you not talking to me?" Elliot asked irritated by Leo's silence. Leo looked up at the slightly taller teen.

"S…Sorry… I've just been spacing out since this morning…" Leo admitted quietly. Rubbing the side of his head.

"Yeah I noticed, you've tripped over your own feet twice just walking down this hall." Elliot scowled at the shorter teen. Leo obviously hadn't fallen down, he would've know. Must've just staggered or fumbled on balance.  
Elliot sighed and pushed the door of the library open with his shoulder and placed one of the many stacks of Leo's horde on the librarian's desk. He turned and left the library, Leo still following behind him. The two walked in silence. Mainly because Leo was spacing out again and Elliot wasn't going to bother talking if Leo wasn't listening.

"Ah. Maybe I have a pair in the drawer." Leo said out loud in his not so loud voice. Elliot looked at the smaller teen walking past him.

"What?" Elliot asked, arching an eyebrow. Leo tapped his cheek where his glasses usually sat.

"I think I have another pair in our dorm." He stated, turning towards the stairs to the second floor dorms. Elliot checked the clock on the wall; they still had time before classes, so he followed along. I mean, not like he had anything _better_ to do. Might as well tail his spacing out of this world of a servant.

Leo opened the door to their dorm and peek around in his drawers. Sighing when his search came up negative. _Damn… I really don't want to walk around without them… I mean my hair is enough to cover my eyes like they used to… But I look strange without them now! I guess it's because I've worn them for so long I just think I look odd or more abnormal than usual without them._ Lost in his thoughts again. Elliot was just standing in the stairwell, not too far from their dorm. He was looking around the walls and such, nit-picking the flaws in his mind. It was occupying his time in the least.  
Leo stood from looking in the bottom drawer and felt a rush of heat and dizziness completely overwhelm him. He held against the wall for support so he wouldn't fall. _I felt bad this morning… Now I just feel downright awful… If I was coming down with something, it hit me pretty damn quick. Ugh. I hate feeling like this…_ He groaned, rubbing his forehead with his other hand. He blinked in a slight confusion. _Are my hands normally this cold? Or am I just normally cold, meaning my hand would be warm… I don't feel all that cold… I mean slightly chilly, but I always am…_ He sighed, regaining most of his balance, enough to stop relying on the wall for support. He took a deep breath and looked up to see Elliot standing in the doorway. _Shit. How long has he been standing there?_

"How long were you planning on taking to look?" Elliot sighed, crossing his arms. Leo straightened himself more to look his usual self.

"Couldn't find it. I guess the ones that broke were my spares…" Leo shrugged, trying to mask the wavering in his voice. He felt like his legs were going to give out any moment, as well as his consciousness. He felt awful, but wouldn't admit it. He _hated_ people worrying about him.

"We'll go into town after school and get you another pair, okay?" Elliot said, looking back to Leo, who was shaking like a leaf in a wind storm. He walked towards Leo. "Hey, you okay Leo?" he asked, concern creeping up on the blonde's face. Leo opened his mouth to tell Elliot that he wasn't and that was it. His legs gave out and his consciousness slipped away within seconds, luckily Elliot caught him before he could fall to the floor.

"Hey! Leo! What the hell? Leo!"

 _Word Count; 1853_

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 **Afterward AN: Oooh kay, bravely publishing chapter one! I hope you enjoyed he first chapter, Leo is a precious baby. He's probably one of my top 5 favourites in Pandora Hearts!**

 **Yes yes, constructive criticism is always welcome to me! I do hope you enjoyed the first chapter~**

 **~Alyss**


	2. Chapter 2

**BEFORE AN: Yay! Chapter 2! This one is a bit shorter~**

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It was like something sharp was prodding its way through Leo's skull. Sending waves of pain and misery. He opened his eyes to see. _**Blood.**_ Nothing but blood. Blood and bodies. Leo flinched back from both the sight and the putrid smell that settled in the air almost instantly. It truly was gag worthy, it smelt like so many things Leo couldn't think of a single way to describe it. He took a step, the sound of organs and blood squishing underneath his foot. Disgusting!

He ignored it to the best he could, pressing forward to look for… Whatever it was, or for whatever reason he was there in the first place. The corpses and limbs he passed slowly became more familiar as he walked along. Children… People he knew… Then the corpses suddenly were no more after a certain point. Leo blinked in confusion, turning behind. All those corpses were still there, why were there suddenly no more? He turned back again to see a single corpse lying in the distance. He skeptically stared for a moment.

 _Something doesn't feel right about this…_

He slowly started walking forward, as he walked voices picked up in the air. He flinched when hearing one, it sounded like Elliot talking to him. "What are you doing, Leo?" his voice rang.

 _I… I don't know… What am I doing?_

He pressed forward more, Elliot's voice rang more. "Who cares if you're reading? Freaking help me out."

 _I do… I enjoy it… It helps me… Wait…? How and why does it help me?_

His breathing quickened as more voices other than Elliot's rang through the pitch black area. He was starting to panic.

 _Where am I? What am I doing here? What is with all the bodies? Why do I hear people? Why can I hear Elliot? Elliot isn't even here! Those were the children back there! The caretakers too! What the hell is happening here! Why is this happ-?_

His panicked thoughts cut short when he got up to that corpse that was distant before. His nearly black eyes stared down at was before him. The gold lights in his eyes flickering at a rapid rate as he stared down in complete shock more than any other emotion.

 _Ell….iot?_

The blonde Nightray was lying at Leo's feet, in a pool of blood. Wounds covering his body as well as the blood soaking his clothing. His legs gave out as he fell beside the corpse of the young Nightray. His dark eyes wide with fear and shock, the gold specks flickering spastically. Leo reached out and touched Elliot's cold, dead cheek.

 _No… Way… Elliot…? Hey… Answer me… This isn't funny… Hey, come on…_

The shock passed and the cold, hard, reality crashed around him.

 _ELLIOT! Word Count: 461_

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 **AFTER AN: Chapter 2 done! More to come**

 **Now I don't mean to be a big bully to Leo but jahhgdshfgjgehahjkkshgksjnfs-**

 **I am a big bully. Big bully Alyss. -3-**

 **~Constructive criticism is always welcome~!**


	3. Chapter 3

**BEFORE AN: Alriiiighty! Chapter 3 is up and running! Hope you enjoy the read~**

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Leo jolted up into a sitting position, bashing his head off of another's. He was shaking horribly. Staring at his trembling hands and panting desperately for air, tears falling down his cheeks. He felt like he was suffocating. The other person's head he bashed let a low curse out. He felt a hand gently touch his shoulder. He couldn't hear their voice over is desperate gasps for breath. Though he felt the weight of whomever it was shift. Then he felt a hand against his cheek, causing him to wince back away.

"Look at me." All he made out from this unknown stranger in front of him. Leo slowly looked up, his breathing not calming to a normal level. Through his blurred vision and thick layer of hair, he seen blonde hair. A cool hand brushed against his face and lifted his bangs up. Leo's already horrified eyes widened when he seen the person in front of him. Elliot Nightray. The one who Leo had seen dead and bleeding out short moments ago. Was living, breathing, and had a bruise forming on his forehead from getting head-butted by Leo. Worry was etched across Elliot's face. He sighed and let Leo's bangs fall again before he brushed them behind his ears.

"Hey… You're okay…" Elliot said softly, patting his shoulder. Leo shakily reached his hands out to Elliot. Elliot blinked in confusion before Leo clung with a mostly deathly grip, squeezing Elliot. He was alive.

"H-hey, Leo?" Elliot stuttered, a bit stunned by the smaller teens actions before he realized that the smaller teen was shaking and sobbing. Elliot sighed and gently hugged Leo back. _Fuck my pride, if it helps him I'll do it…_ He sighed. Within a few minutes, both Leo's breathing and shaking calmed to a manageable level. Leo slowly let go of Elliot's sweater and looked up at him. His nearly black eyes were dull and sad, the gold lights slowly flickering in and out of colour. Leo slowly felt Elliot's cheeks.

"You… You're not dead…" Leo muttered, his hands cold and shaking. Elliot raised an eyebrow.

"No. I'm very much alive." He said calmly. _Must've been a nightmare… He's been having them more and more often…_

"Huh…? Where?" Leo mumbled, looking around the room lazily. His hands weakly dropping into his lap.

"Our dorm?" Elliot replied, it was pretty damn clear that it was their dorm. Books all over the place on Leo's side, Elliot's side _relatively_ clean. Leo looked around more, before noticing the clock on the wall. "Noon…?" He mumbled before jumping when it clicked with him. "W-why are we in our dorm? Shouldn't we be in class?" Leo panicked and said to Elliot, he simply gave a sigh for a response.

" _Really?_ In _your_ condition? I'm amazed with my stupidity that I even let you leave this morning." Elliot sighed, mentally beating himself up over it. Leo blinked. _In my condition? Did I trip and injure myself or something?_

"Wha?" Leo mumbled. Elliot sighed and stood up, stretching his arms.

"Seriously? You don't feel crappy? You'd think with a fever of *39, you'd notice even a little." Elliot scoffed, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "You said you thought you had a spare pair of glasses, came in here, took freaking forever to look, then collapsed. That was over four hours ago."

Leo blinked in confusion. _Did Elliot… Stay back from class to take care of me? Did he seriously? Or is it lunch time now and that's why he's here? No, lunch is at 1… Did he actually stay rather than go to class? What the hell Elliot? Why bother?_

"Oi. You're spacing out again." Elliot said, snapping Leo out his thoughts. Leo looked up at Elliot standing at the wall.

"Sorry! I'm fine really I-"Leo started before Elliot cut him off with a loud 'tch'

"Give me a break, Leo." Elliot sighed with a scowl. "I didn't stay here for over four hours with you because I thought you were 'fine', I stayed here because I would've been horrible to just leave you alone in your condition. I don't give a damn if you're my 'servant' for cripes sake, you're my friend. And I sure as hell wouldn't leave you like that." He sighed, scowling at Leo, irritated at his overly persistent attitude. _There. I fucking said it. I freaking hope he stops being so persistent with trying to prove he's fine now… Though… Knowing Leo, he won't._ Elliot mentally sighed. He looked back at Leo, who had tears slowly falling down his cheeks. _Shit!_ _What the hell did I do!?_

"….For…. For real?" Leo muttered. _What? What do you mean 'for real'? I didn't just say that to make you feel better! Okay that was a part of it, but I meant it._

"You… Really mean that…? I'm your… Friend?" Leo asked. "N-not just an annoying servant?" _Man. When he's sick he has_ _no_ _self-confidence…_

"Come on. If you were that annoying, I would've gotten rid of you. I'm not saying that just to try and cheer you up… I sincerely meant what I said. Yeah, I use 'servant' around the Nightray family, because that's the only way they even _remotely_ accept you. Man if I said that you were my friend to them, they'd have a freaking _fit_." Elliot sighed with a faint smile. "I stayed because you're my friend, and you matter to me. So like hell would I just leave you here, and besides. I don't think anything interesting was happening today in class anyways…"

Leo sleepily smiled at him. Now he was starting to feel crappy; starting to feel light-headed and groggy, truly starting to feel sick. He felt frozen, but too hot at the same time, his chest didn't feel right either, like he was unable to breathe properly.

"Go back to sleep, Leo… You'll need it." Elliot said to him, slowly moving Leo's thick bangs again so they weren't in his face. Leo shivered and gripped the blankets around him. "Also." Elliot started before he sat on his own bed. "I'll be right here if you need me. Just let me know… Okay?" He said, crossing his legs and took the book he had on his side table. Leo gave a very faint smile and slowly laid down. He confirmed to himself, he was sick. He had to accept it.

Leo curled up in a ball under his blankets, burying his face into his pillow. He just hoped he'd get better soon so he wouldn't have to deal with the aggressive headache and all the other junk that came with him being sick.

 _Word Count: 1111_

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 **AFTER AN: And Chapter 3 has concluded! Chapter 4 is coming! Please be patient~**

 ** _For those who don't know= *39.c is 102.f_**

 ** _~Alyss_**

 ** _~Constructive criticism is always welcome~_**


	4. Chapter 4

**BEFORE AN: This is a liiiiiiiiiiiitle shorter than the rest~ But I hope that's okay! Let's start chapter 4!**

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Leo shook awoke hours later from another damned nightmare to the dim light of the nearby lamp outside. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, scanning the room. The room was dark and somewhat cold. The clock read half past midnight, and Elliot was asleep. Leo pressed his hand against his forehead with a groan. He felt awful, he felt overly nauseous and dizzy. He stood up from his bed slowly and begrudgingly walked to the bathroom. He hadn't eaten anything all day, which he came to the conclusion that was why he felt so nauseous.

And he was right as his stomach did nothing but give up stomach acids and water. Disgusting. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve with a sigh, then rinsed the disgusting bile and acids down the sink. He sighed and leaned against the wall, groaning and rubbing his forehead. He felt disgusting and he hated it. He silently hoped that he didn't wake Elliot up, but another part of him could have cared less if he did. He hugged the blanket he had dragged off his bed with him as he shivered and slowly slid down the wall to sit in a miserable huddle on the floor.

He felt like he was freezing to death, which bothered him since he was normally chilly to begin with. _I don't need to be any fucking colder… I'm cold to begin with…_ He hissed under his breath, huddling the blanket more. _I should probably go back to bed… But ugh… I still feel like vomiting… Disgusting…_ He sighed and looked up at the plain ceiling with the single, dull light. His dull, dark eyes fluttered slowly as he started to doze off. _No, no, no. Don't doze you idiot… Just go back to bed…_ He scolded himself and very slowly stood up, his stomach expelling another batch of stomach acids and water. He groaned and wiped his mouth again, rinsing the bile down the sink.

 _Whatever the hell I caught better pass soon…_ He groaned and miserably trotted back to his bed, flopping down on it with a sigh. He looked over to Elliot's bed, he obviously didn't wake him up… Then again, Elliot was a rather heavy sleeper. He curled up and shut his eyes once more, sweetly hoping to fall asleep as soon as possible.

 _Word Count: 390_

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 **AFTER AN: A little shorter (as mentioned) I hate being such a bully to Leo but I can't help it...**

 **Constructive criticism is always welcome!**

 **~Alyss**


	5. Chapter 5

**BEFORE AN: Okay, chapter 5 is up and running. I suck at thinking of Chapter titles so I just changed them back . I'm creative... I'm not THAT creative. Gimme a breaaaaaaaaaak!**

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Leo awoke once more not from a nightmare but to an incredibly cold hand touching his forehead. He groaned and weakly slapped it away curling up in a tight ball of blankets and misery. After a few minutes he could still feel the presence of whomever was there, right now he could care less who it was. He would gratefully embrace death's touch right now. He opened his already heavy eyes to see a blood soaked hand. He flinched and blinked, just his mind… He pushed himself on his elbows then sat up, whomever was talking he couldn't hear them over the loud ringing in his ears. He rubbed his eyes, hoping whatever sick and cruel illusion his brain was causing would stop. He heard his name and looked up. Elliot. His eyes flashed, blood soaked. Leo flinched back away from Elliot, covering his eyes.

"Leo? Hey?" Elliot asked once more, confused when he seen Leo flinch away from him and cover his eyes.

 _My goddamned nightmares are trying to become reality. No. No. No. No. No. No! Please be fake! Please be fake! Please don't be reality! Please be an illusion! Please let this be an illusion!_ He begged silently in his mind, tears welling up in his eyes. He jumped when he felt a hand gently touch his shoulder and rub it gently. He took a shaky breath and looked up, Elliot. Only not soaked in blood and wounds like he just saw. He breathing wasn't calming much.

"Leo. Relax…" Elliot said quietly. Leo looked up weakly, his head was already spinning enough to make him feel nauseous. He shook and sniffed, rubbing his eyes to make sure that it was reality. Elliot looked perfectly fine, worry etched in his face with a frown. Elliot brushed Leo's thick bangs out of his face to see just how awful he really looked. His normally large eyes were droopy and swollen, his cheeks had a dark shade of red painting across them, and he had sweat clinging to his forehead but was shivering like he was freezing to death. Elliot frowned more, wrapping Leo's blanket around his shoulders. Leo's reaction was pretty delayed as almost a minute after he seemed to notice.

"Leo?" Elliot asked, waving his hand in front of his face. Another delayed reaction from him as he jumped almost a minute later.

"Y-yes?" He croaked out, he sounded just as bad as he looked. Elliot's frown turned to a very concerned look.

"You seriously look like shit. You should probab-"Elliot began before Leo cut him off.

"Imma sleep…" He mumbled, nuzzling the blanket around his shoulders. Elliot's eye pricked in a slight irritation from getting cut off.  
"I'm just gonna sleep today…" Leo mumbled again, curling up on his bed in a tiny shivering ball. Elliot sighed, he wasn't going to bother arguing with him. It was too early for that. He simply filled a glass of water and left some medicine out for Leo and went off to his classes. He'd get in a lot of shit if he skipped often. Regardless of what was going on. He sighed and headed off to class, glancing one last time and the raven haired teen curled up in a tiny ball on his bed, who was already fast asleep.

He just hoped that Leo would be better soon. He felt somewhat lonely without having him follow him around all the time. Hell, he even missed them arguing over pointless stuff like usual. Though Elliot was usually the reason those arguments ever started. Not like Leo was any better! He argued about the same stupid stuff… Elliot froze in the hallway.

 _JESUS, WE SOUND LIKE A GODDAMN FREAKING MARRIED COUPLE!_ Elliot screamed at himself.

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 _Word Count: 625_

 **AFTER AN: I giggle at my own lame jokes. I apologize for another short chapter, hopefully the next one will be much longer! ({Hopefully})**

 **I swear, I get my muses for Elliot and Leo while listening to Avenge Sevenfold, wish I knew why.**

 **~Constructive criticism is always welcome~ (One of these days I'll spell '** **criticism' right without the use of autocorrect .)**

 **~Alyss**


	6. Chapter 6

**BEFORE AN: Okay! I _know_ I said that this one would be longer. But it isn't. However I can 100% assure you that Chapter 7 is MUCH longer.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **~Alyss**

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He was waking up more than he really wanted to. Though when he woke he vaguely knew where he was. He also had no idea that Elliot wasn't even there. He just laid there, occasionally rolling around out of boredom and sheer unknowing to what he was actually doing. His body and mind were so hazy and dull half of the time he couldn't register what he was doing.

His mind's haze and the loud ringing in his ears eventually quelled to a manageable level for him to actually realize what he was doing, lying on his stomach with his blankets tangled around him and his pillow on the floor. He scowled when coming to proper senses.

 _Really? What the hell was I doing? Sheesh…_ He groaned and managed to untangle himself from the blankets with not so much ease as he sincerely hoped. He huffed quietly when finally untangling himself. _Damn blankets…_ He paused from scolding the blankets _… Damn me for doing such a stupid thing…_ He scolded himself. He slowly scanned the room.

Elliot was gone, there was no blood so he wasn't dead… He then glanced up at the clock. _10:17am, Elliot probably went off to class. Oh shit. I should probably as well. Man, I'll be behind if I miss too many days… That would suck…_ He muttered to himself and stood up slowly. His legs immediately giving out as he fell back onto his bed, he was also starting to feel lightheaded. Another thing that bothered him, breathing seemed to be getting harder and harder with each shrill gasp of air he attempted to take in.

 _What the… Hell? Why is breathing getting… so hard?_ He questioned as he pathetically attempted to take solid breaths.

 _Now… If I was Asthmatic… I'd assume an Asthma attack… But I'm not… Am I having a stroke or something? … Highly unlikely… It just hurts to breathe… Like I'm breathing in acidic fumes… Or some weird shit…. Like that… Though… I think sucking on acid would feel…. A bit better… Than this…_

He mumbled to himself and he rubbed his forehead, he had suddenly felt cold all through. Unnaturally cold, his shivering was so bad he could no longer feel it… Come to think. He couldn't feel anything. He felt completely numb, he could still see around him, watching the room spin and wobble with his uneasy vision.

His mind began to feel cluttered, overly cluttered and uneasy. His breathing was cutting out to short gasps in desperate attempts to take breaths. His stomach was churning with the spinning of the room, but nothing would come up. He slumped over coughing and desperately trying to breathe, even one solid breath.

 _Okay… Maybe a stroke… Is a likely and… Very valid… Option… Now… I… I think I…. Can give an… assumption to this… I just… Greatly hope… That it isn't… The case here!_

His breath suddenly cut out completely… Then everything went black. Everything disappeared from around him and all noises ceased to exist.

Could hear nor see a single thing. Everything was numb and dark…

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 _Word Count: 517_

 **AFTER AN: YES! IT WAS SHORT I AM SORRY. But the next is long as frick. I'msuchabullytoLeoI'msohorribletomybaby-**

 **Regardless.**

 **~Constructive Criticism is always welcome~**


	7. Chapter 7

**BEFORE AN: THIS IS PROBABLY THE LONGEST CHAPTER GODDAMN IT.**

 **This chapter also contains some blood, fluff and cuteness.**

 **~Alyss**

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The infirmary of their school was practically a miniature hospital. It had enough medical supplies there to preform small surgeries and keep people under a good condition watch. The head nurse, and basically the woman who did everything, *Miranda Howes, most of the time sat there bored on her swivel chair either singing strange songs (in a horrible voice as the woman couldn't sing to save her life) or she hazily drew pictures. The woman wasn't artistically talented at all.

She had been informed by the young Nightray boy in the morning before classes began that his servant wasn't well. So, Miranda took it upon her to go check on him around noon to see just how awful he was. As Elliot had described Leo to Miranda, she assumed the kid was just a small ball of misery and coughing. Elliot basically told her that he looked like Deaths hand would take him at any moment. She had just nodded while he was telling her. It greatly amused her that the heir of the Nightray family was showing weakness, weakness to his servant none the less. It amused her greatly.

Though Miranda took her job seriously and as much as she enjoyed poking fun at the teens that attended, she did her job vigilantly and efficiently. So. Around noon time she went to the dorm of the Nightray and his servant. For the life of her, she could never dig up what that kid's last name was. There didn't seem to be record of it, anywhere in the school's records... Perhaps he didn't know it, or he knew and didn't want anyone to know the true identity of himself. She made a mental note to ask Elliot if he knew, since the kid wouldn't likely cough up a last name willingly.

She started for the dorm of the two, just scanning the hallways out of boredom as she walked. From the Infirmary, their dorm was a bit of a walk, then again, the school was enormous. She eventually reached the floor and looked at the pen scribbled on her hand of the dorm number. The part she was in was somewhat dull in light. Top floor, dim lights, and scarce amounts of windows. The walls were pretty bare as well. _Not all that appealing…_ She hummed to herself as she approached the door. _Honestly. You'd think the Nightray boy would want a nicer area for a dorm, but hey, it seemed like it would be relatively quiet…  
_ Quiet is nice she whistled and she gently knocked on the door, to warn that she was going to go in and to see if she got a response. She didn't think she'd get a response, and she didn't, as she expected. She slowly opened the door to see the pitch black room, a blanket was hazardously hung over the window, obviously by one of them to make the room darker.

She was about to flick the light on before she decided against it and thought opening the curtain would have been better. She froze when she walked in when she smelt the distinct smell of copper, or better term, she smelt blood. It was a lot or she wouldn't have smelt it. It was a bit overpowering, she crinkled her nose in disgust at the smell.  
 _I thought this kid was a guy, not a bleeding woman…_ She sparked the comment in her mind, thinking she was being witty. She slowly moved inside the room, vaguely making out the layout of the room. A bed by the door, one by the window. A dresser beside the one by the window, a wardrobe at the end of the other one, she could see the doorway for their bathroom to the left. The room looked bare for what she could make out in the darkness. _I won't try to wake the kid up if I can prevent it…_ She mentally noted as she slowly stepped forward, her shoe hit something gently. _What's on the floor? It doesn't feel hard enough to be an object… Is the kid on the floor? Or it's a pillow, the floor can't be that damn comfy to sleep on it..._ She scowled and went towards the window, pulling the blanket off of the curtain and turned around to see bloodstains all over the bed by the window and the one she was looking for.

Leo was on the floor partially curled up, his hair masking his face per usual, a small pool of blood under his head, one hand around his abdomen and the other one close to his chest, his light grey pajamas having a few stains of blood on them.

"Christ!" Miranda yelped as she went over to Leo and slowly moved him to see the front of him. Blood stains on the chest of the shirt, as if it was coughed out, one hand covered in blood, a thin trail running from his mouth, it was dried. _Low pulse, not breathing properly, or at all I from what I cannot feel, his face can probably match a sheet of paper, a small laceration on is head. He probably fell off the bed… Shit. Well, Elliot was right, this kid looks like Death is ready to take him. Shit, how long has he been laying here?... I think I know what's wrong._ She noted everything to herself as she as gently as possible picked him up and took him to the Infirmary.

Once he came back to reality. All he could hazily see was blank white… Just a blank white ceiling with a few lights, and vaguely a curtain or two. The room seemed familiar but not too much. He recognized it, but was in too much of a daze to put two and two together. Where the hell was he? He blinked slowly, his thick bangs covering the majority of his vision still. He tried clearing the daze, then some vague noises came into his hearing. A beeping and an odd noise that sounded like air getting forcefully pushed into something, whatever it was being pushed to, he couldn't identify as of right now. He also felt a slight pain in his mid-left arm, located slightly under the inner elbow. He blinked a few more times, before he let his neck roll his head to the side ever so slightly. He could identify that he was lying down though.

Wherever he was, Elliot was sitting in a chair beside him. Worry masking what looked like complete terror as he seemed to be reading. It looked as if he was trying to distract himself from something. Leo tried moving his head more in an attempt to attract Elliot's attention. No luck. His thoughts were nothing but cluttered with vagueness. Where was he? Why was he there? Why did Elliot look scared? Well, his face didn't show it, but Leo was good at reading emotions by someone's eyes. Elliot's eyes showed fear and worry. Which raised the ultimate question to Leo. Why? Why in the world did Elliot have such a look?

He wanted to open his mouth and say something but he couldn't. But there's something that he didn't mean to do. His arm, where the faint pain was emitting from, gave a spasm, causing Elliot to nearly jump a foot in the air and the book to go flying out of his hands. He froze for a second to recover from the obvious scare, then he looked down to Leo, moving his bangs slightly to see his dull violet eyes weakly looking up in a dazed confusion. Elliot's emotions almost instantaneously changed from the fear and worry to complete relief. An actual smile washing across the previously worried face.

"Oh. My. God." Elliot breathed what seemed to be a heavy sigh of relief as he let Leo's bangs go, gently brushing them behind his ear so he could see the smaller teen's eyes. As dull and lifeless as they seemed to be at the current moment. "Sheesh, when Howes told me what happened I swear I nearly had a heart attack…" He sighed again, gently brushing a few strands of hair from Leo's face. He didn't seem to have as awful of a fever as he did earlier in the day. Wait. Leo had absolutely _no idea_ what time it was, he still also had no idea _where_ he was. His fingers twitched from his left arm in somewhat discomfort.

"Nightray, the kid is finally awake?" A vague female voice rang through his ears. Elliot looked up towards a direction that Leo couldn't see with the way he was lying down.

"Yeah…" Elliot said, still worry in his voice, but nowhere near as bad as his eyes had reflected. Okay. Leo was very slowly piecing together what was going on. _Obviously something happened to me that caused him to worry as bad as I could read off of him… I've also obviously been out for a while. My head is spinning and my ears are ringing… But not nearly as bad as they were earlier. I have no clue where I am, or what time it is… Hell… After the past bit, all of this could just be a fevered delusion resulting in false realities. Hell I could still be asleep… Or dead for that matter… No I feel too much to be dead and…_ He stopped his thoughts when Miranda went over to him, looking over him, or he thought that's what she was doing.

"The mask don't bother you, kid?" Miranda asked. Leo blinked in a slight confusion, but also in a daze. Mask? What mask? Something in Leo's mind clicked. _Wait… I'm not having as hard of time breathing as I was earlier… Mask… A mask? Okay… I think I can safely assume that I'm in the Infirmary… Shit. If I'm in here, something must've happened then… But I remember not a goddamn thing! ... Other than that I can actually breathe somewhat comfortably; other than that. Nothing... Nothing at all._

"Just a shake or a nod, kid. I think you can manage that." She asked, though it sounded more like a pushy demand. "Come on, I need to know if you're somewhat conscious now." She said with a tinge of worry, thinking he was just in an awake daze. Elliot looked down at Leo, he was still very clearly worried, and it was actually starting to show. Elliot Nightray was actually starting to show a softer emotion. Leo managed to gain enough energy to shake his head. If she didn't say he had a mask on, he probably wouldn't have known. So safe to say; it wasn't bothering him.

"Good good…" She nodded before looking towards whatever noise was beside him. "You seem relatively steady right now. A lot better than when I found you." She stated with a snap of her fingers. "I won't demand, but if you could, know how long you were out for? Mean before I got you around noon…?"

His dulled eyes scanned over to Elliot, lightly tapping a finger on the bedsheet. Elliot raised an eyebrow in confusion, Leo managed to get a hold of Elliot's hand, slowly and weakly tracing letters out.

T. I. M. E.

"Howes, what time is it?" Elliot asked, looking up to Miranda. She turned on her heel and glanced at a clock.

"Hmm… Half past midnight." She stated and turned back to the two of them.

I. T. S. N. I. G. H. T.

"Yeah it's night." Elliot stated. Leo gave a weak nod in confirmation. Miranda sat on her swivel chair, folding her arms on the backrest.

W. H. A. T. H. A. P. P. E. N. E. D.

"I don't know all of the details. I just vaguely know…" Elliot sighed with a small shrug, looking to Miranda.

"Put it simply kid, you getting sick caused one of your lungs to collapse… When I went to check on you at noon, per request of Nightray. You were completely unconscious and it looked like you *horked up a packet of blood. It was a pretty overpowering stench of blood… You also apparently fell off of your bed, so you have a niiiiice laceration on your forehead from falling over. All I can say is, good thing you didn't keel over…" She stated, Elliot seemed to pale a shade or two hearing that, since he just knew that Leo was in a bad enough condition to be brought there. Leo slowly processed what he could vaguely hear. He understood it probably better than Elliot did.

 _That would explain why I could barely breathe… Wait… She said it was half past midnight…_ It was around half past ten when he had woken up to being basically suffocating by his own lungs. He had been out for over twelve hours!? Elliot didn't know how shitty Leo felt in the morning since Leo seemed to have shrugged him off in favour of sleeping, and apparently nearly dying.

Leo could feel Elliot's hand shaking underneath his own already shivering hand.

I. M. O. K. A. Y. E. L. L. I. O. T.

Elliot flinched at Leo suddenly tracing letters on his hand again. His eyebrows crinkled in slight irritation and worry at the same time, if you can believe that such a look is a real thing. He looked down at Leo and he gave a very weak and wary smile to the Nightray. Elliot looked back down at him, looking both tired and slightly irritated.

"You know. As much as I'd normally yell at you for being stubborn…" Elliot started before he went quiet, not finishing, his head nodded forward as he had dozed off. Leo would've chuckled if he could at the time. He gave Elliot's hand a gentle squeeze, okay, that took all of his energy.

"Man… Finally he's asleep… He popped by shortly after I got you here and no joke, freaked out when he seen your state. He stayed here instead of going back to class. He paced so much I swear he left a rut in my floor… Thooooough. I guess I should've probably told him what had happened to you after I got you all fixed up. A nice monitor, oxygen tank, an IV and some lovely fluffy bedding. I guess it slipped my mind to tell him…" Miranda said in a miniature rant. Man she could be irresponsible… She pushed on the floor, rolling her chair around to the other side where Elliot was, draping a blanket over him.

"Can't have both of you down for the count, now can we?" She grinned and swirled on her chair. She moved back to her desk and stood from her chair. Walking back over to Leo.

"Sleep well, okay kid?" She smiled softly and dimmed the lights enough so he could go to sleep as she walked away from the area. Her soft sounds of her feet growing distant as Leo began to fade into sleep. He looked back over to Elliot with a tired smile, giving his hand another gentle squeeze, he was happy he cared enough about him to worry about him.

 _Accepting to be his servant… Was probably… One of the best decisions I've ever made..._ Leo grinned as he slowly faded into sleep. Their fingers still laced together in comfort.

* * *

 _Word Count: 2566_

 **AFTER AN: WASN'T THAT FLUFFY!?**

 **(I was going off of what had happened to me when I had a collapsed lung, so I guess it may differ per person. idk)**

 **I hope you enjoyed, Chapter 8 is on the way! Unless you think I should stop here ;w;**

 **1* Miranda Howes (aka I needed to think of a random name)**

 **2* Horked- a very brutal and blunt way to say coughed.**

 **~Constructive criticism is always welcome~**

 **~Alyss**


	8. Chapter 8

**BEFORE AN: Lots of long fluff here. Enjoy!**

 **~Alyss**

* * *

Elliot was still sleeping, partially curled up on the chair where he fell asleep when Miranda walked in that morning. She walked over to the two of them, Leo still in decently stable condition, Elliot fast asleep, the two having their hands still holding.

"Aww… How cute." Miranda smiled softly. Checking the oxygen levels. "This kid seems to be doing well now." She smirked and sat on her swivel chair, looking through the student files. She wanted to know the kids last name. "Does he not know it or something?" She turned on her chair, looking towards the two sleeping teens.

Leo's hand gave a twitch and a quiet groan as he stirred awake slightly. She stayed for a moment before getting up and walking over. Leo grumbled softly as his eyes weakly flickered open. She actually got a look at the kid's eyes. There were such a dark purple they were nearly black, with tiny gold specks flickering in and out of colour. _How pretty… Why does he always cover them?_ She thought to herself seeing them.

"How you doing kid?" She asked quietly, careful not to wake the other one. Leo blinked away the blur that covered his eyes, now that he was actually properly awake. He got to feel just how _bad_ he felt. He ached almost everywhere, his chest especially. He felt like he got hit by a carriage or something. He shifted uncomfortably, giving a weak and pathetic attempt to sit up.

"Hey kid, hang on, don't try that on your own." She said, helping him sit up somewhat, breaking the touch between Elliot and himself. Leo noticed that his hand felt cold after that. He tiredly scowled at that fact. "How you feeling?" He opened his mouth to actually attempt to say something but he winced at the pain and pressure from his chest and coughed, he shook and twitched from the pain, hunched over coughing. Elliot stirred slowly from hearing that before flinching awake and sitting up.

"Le-"He started before he was cut off by Miranda putting her finger against his lips. After a few passing seconds, Leo's coughing quelled, as well as his shaking. He looked up weakly, slowly looking over to Elliot, who once more had worry etched across his face. Leo sat up the best he could, still trembling. He smiled weakly at him. He was beyond a healthy pale. Elliot set his hand beside Leo, which Leo gave a weak smile and started tracing letters on his hand.

I. F. E. E. L. C. O. M. P. L. E. T. E. L. Y. A. W. F. U. L.

Elliot frowned slightly.

"Well?" Miranda said, crossing her arms slightly.

"He says he feels completely awful…" Elliot said quietly _. How the hell can I help him…? I… I can't help Leo… Can I?_ Elliot berated himself for not being able to help him.

"Well what hurts, kiddo?" She asked, looking down at the smaller teen. Leo slowly started tracing letters again, Elliot could feel his hand trembling.

E. V. E. R. Y. T. H. I. N. G.

Elliot frowned more. "Everything?" he asked quietly, Leo gave a weak nod.

N. O. T. H. I. N. G. I. C. A. N. T. H. A. N. D. L. E.

I. A. M. O. K. A. Y. E. L. L. I. O. T.

Leo traced, trying to reassure Elliot that he was fine.

P. L. E. A. S. E. D. O. N. T. W. O. R. R. Y.

He paused

S. E. E. I. N. G. Y. O. U. W. O. R. R. Y.

He paused again

I. T. I. S. N. T. L. I. K. E. Y. O. U. E. L. L. I. O. T.

He weakly smiled up at Elliot, tracing a bit more

S. O. P. L. E. A. S. E. D. O. N. T. W. O. R. R. Y.

He paused, his hand was starting to shake more

I. W. O. N. T. D. I. E. S. O. E. A. S. I. L. Y.

S. O. D. O. N. T. W. O. R. R. Y. A. B. O. U. T. M. E.

It was silent, excluding from Leo slowly starting to wheeze a bit.

C. O. M. E. O. N.

Elliot looked at Leo, he smiled weakly at him, though the smile looked slightly more alive.

S. M. I. L. E.

Leo proceeded to slowly trace a smiley face on his hand. Elliot looked at him then chuckled.

"Alright. Fine I will." He smiled at Leo, Leo returned a smile to him, his hand shaking enough to cause his entire arm to shake.

"You cold, kiddo?" Miranda asked, Leo gave a weak nod. Before Miranda draped a blanket over him, Elliot put his sweater over his shoulders. Leo blinked and looked to Elliot, blinking a bit confused.

"I didn't need it." Elliot said, stretching his arms from the somewhat uncomfortable sleep he had on that chair.

"You heading to classes or something, Nightray?" She asked, looking to Elliot, he shook his head and sat back down.

"No. I'm staying here. The teachers can lay a punishment to me after he's better." Elliot stated, crossing his arms. "Leo is more important anyways." He said a bit quieter. He didn't notice Leo shift closer towards him. But flinched slightly when Leo flopped partially onto Elliot with a weak hug.

"Tha….nk… Y….ou…. El…..lio….t…" Leo rasped out with a weak smile, slowly dozing out of the world of the awake. Miranda gave a quiet chuckle.

"As much as I believe that you enjoy the affection, he'll cause more damage than good like that." She said slowly moving Leo to lying back down, winking at Elliot. "You two are cute."

A light pink made its way to Elliot's cheeks, in both embarrassment and anger. _Don't tease me, woman…_ He said quietly, she didn't hear it. She spun on her heels. "So. Nightray, I got a question for you." She started in a rather serious tone.

He looked up to the woman. "What?" He responded, a bit confused, she sounded so serious suddenly. He couldn't read her.

"The kid, what's his last name? The school literally has no records of it. I'm assuming since he's your servant, you'd know it." She asked, crossing her arms, a serious expression on her face. Elliot blinked.

 _I've… Actually never asked him that… I have no idea what his last name is. I just know his first name… I guess it never crossed my mind to ask him. I'm sure he'd tell me if it was relevant to anything… It isn't my business anyways…_

"I… Actually don't know it." Elliot admitted. "Why do you want to know, anyways?" He asked, now serious about it. _Why does she want to know so badly? What relevance does it have with him?_

"Because I was thinking about tracing his family to see if stuff like this ran with the blood… Not everyone just has a lung collapse, it's usually a blood thing… Familial stuff, you know? I'm sure you Nightray's have stuff that runs in the family… No?" She simply shrugged, spinning on her heel again. "Here's another question… Do you think he even knows his last name?" She asked, turning back to him, twirling a lock of her shoulder length dark red hair.

"Okay, I can understand your reasoning, but I don't see why it matters…" Elliot scowled, crossing his arms.

She replied with a shrug. "Humans are naturally curious, Nightray, that means me as well. Have you seriously never been curious about it before? What if he's actually someone with a bad blood line?" She smirked, sitting on her chair. "And before you fly off the handle at me. I'm teasing you. It isn't any of my business, I had just found it off putting how there was literally _no_ record here of his last name. It's not a thing you usually see." She shrugged again, with a smug and teasing look on her face.

Elliot scowled at her, he didn't enjoy being teased at all. "I really don't appreciate that, Howes." He said simply. She gave him a cheeky grin.

"Aww. I'm sorry, I just thought I'd tease you a little to amuse my boredom…" She smirked at him. "It is somewhat rare to see a master defend their servant." She smiled sweetly.

"….Because he's my friend." Elliot stated quietly, if Miranda had cat ears, they would have perked up.

"Hmmmm~?" She hummed loudly, looking at Elliot with a cheeky grin.

"Leo is my friend…" Elliot stated loud and stern. "He is someone I care about and would hate to lose. He's my friend." He said, crossing his arms. "That's why I care about him more than some classes."

"Aww. How cute… Nightray has a friend." She smiled.

"I don't need that tone." He scowled at her. She smiled and rolled on the chair closer to him.

"Aww, worry not. I think he'll be fine." She smiled and stretched before standing up and kicking her chair back to her desk. "I'm going to walk around the halls for a bit, need a stretch." She smiled and left.

Elliot waited until she left before he broke the scowl off his face.

"That woman… Seriously… She takes way too much enjoyment in teasing others…" He sighed and leaned back in the chair. He said he'd stay but… _What am I even going to do all day? He'll probably be asleep for a while, so what the hell am I supposed to even do? Clearly, I didn't think this far ahead… I amaze myself with my own stupidity sometimes. I guess I could keep reading until I'm done the book… Then what?_ Yeah. Then what? He could stare at Leo until he woke up, but that would be awkward. He wasn't tired enough to just nap for the sake of passing time. He sure as hell wasn't going to up and leave, especially since he was the only conscious person in the room at the current moment in time. He had some paper and a pen, he could scribble out some music…

He sighed again and propped one elbow on the chairs arm rest and rested his cheek in his hand. He was going to be bored. He spent a few hours reading and scribbling out some random tunes on the paper before he heard Leo slowly stir awake. He sat the book down, looking down at Leo. He mumbled something and his head moved slightly. He blinked open those unique eyes sleepily.

 _Oh yeah… I'm here… I'm not dead, I'm just partially dead… Okay maybe thinking like that isn't the way to take it. I'm not dead, I'm not partially dead… I just wish I was dead so my chest wouldn't hurt so bad… What then? Elliot is still here? Why? Goddamn it Elliot don't fucking worry about me. I'm not worth worrying about… Go do what you're supposed to do, not sit there looking like a damn bump on a log from boredom. Sheesh! I swear, worrying about me won't do either of us any good! Just… Argh…_

Leo ranted on and on in his mind, not like he had enough energy to say it out loud. His thoughts broke when he heard Elliot talk to him.

"Hey…" Elliot said simply. Leo blinked what little haze was left and looked up to Elliot. He did appreciate that Elliot was worried about him, but damn it pissed him off at the same time. He didn't think he should be worried about.

"Uh… Feel any better?" He asked, the air felt awkward. Leo sighed mentally and tapped the sheet. Tracing letters was his only method of talking at the moment.

Y. E. S. I. D. O. F. E. E. L. B. E. T. T. E. R.

Elliot smiled softly at the response given by the smaller teen. "That's good…" He seemed to look relieved by that.

C. A. N. Y. O. U. H. E. L. P. M. E. W. I. T. H. S. O. M. E. T. H. I. N. G.

"What?" Elliot asked, confused by his sudden request.

H. E. L. P. M. E. S. I. T. U. P.

He paused

I. T. S. U. N. C. O. M. F. O. R. T. A. B. L. E.

Elliot nodded and slowly helped Leo sit up, he slowly tilted his head to both sides, hearing the cracks his neck gave made his head feel lighter, in a good way for the first time in a while.

I. F. E. E. L. P. R. E. T. T. Y. D. A. M. N. U. S. E. L. E. S. S.

"What? Why?" Elliot asked, crinkling his eyebrows in confusion and irritation.

B. E. C. A. U. S. E.

"Yeah. Like _that_ is a good reason." Elliot huffed at him, a small scowl on his face.

I. A. M. N. O. T. D. O. I. N. G. W. H. A. T. A.

He paused

S. E. R. V. A. N. T. S. H. O. U. L. D. D. O.

"Leo, I already said I don't care about that. You're my friend. I don't give a damn about having a servant or not… You're my _friend_ , Leo. Got that?" Elliot sighed, leaving his hand there in case Leo had more to say.

R. E. A. L. L. Y.

"Yes really! I swear we've been over this already…" Déjà vu much, Elliot scoffed mentally.

A. L. R. I. G. H. T.

He paused

H. E. Y. E. L. L. I. O. T.

"What?" he asked. Paying attention to the letters getting traced on the back of his hand.

Y. O. U. R. H. A. N. D. I. S. W. A. R. M.

Elliot raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Like they normally are?" he questioned Leo. Leo smiled softly.

I. T. K. E. P. T. M. Y. H. A. N. D.

He paused

W. A. R. M. L. A. S. T. N. I. G. H. T.

He smiled a somewhat proper smile. Elliot felt his cheeks warm up slightly from the comment Leo made. He had completely forgotten that he just knocked out last night. It's why his shoulders were so stiff. He fell asleep last night, with his hand still around Leo's hand. _Shit…_ Elliot muttered to himself quietly, feeling a faint blush on his cheeks. It wasn't intentional… At all. But it seemed to make Leo happy.

"Y… Your point? I fell asleep…" Elliot retorted quietly after the long silence.

S. E. R. I. O. U. S. L. Y.

"W-what?" He asked, hoping Leo didn't see the blush.

G. O. D. Y. O. U. R. E. B. E. I. N. G. B. A. S. H. F. U. L.

Leo seemed to chuckle quietly after finishing.

"WHAT ARE YOU IMPLYING YOU IDIOT?" Elliot retorted, a blush now clear on his face, Leo smiled. Thankfully he was starting to feel a bit better. Not by much but hey. Little by little. No?

* * *

 _Word Count: 2507_

 **AFTER AN: Allllrighty! FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF**

 **I hope you enjoyed it, chapter 9 is coming along~**

 **~Constructive criticism always welcome here~**

 **~Alyss**


	9. Chapter 9

**BEFORE AN: This one is filled with lots of fluff and just the two of them being cuties in general.**

 **~Alyss**

* * *

The days were going by slowly, Leo's consciousness not exactly around very often. It was long days. Miranda eventually forced Elliot to go to class and to not worry as bad as he was… Thankfully catching up on what he missed from refusing to leave Leo's side was easily completed. When he had gotten everything Leo had been missing he realized that he'd have to work his ass off to get caught up… Oh, no, that is if Leo was a complete idiot. Gladly he wasn't. He sighed and picked up the small stack of books to bring to him, slowly making his way to the Infirmary to see Leo as he usually did after classes every day.

"Hey…. Ell….iot…" Leo smiled and weakly waved at Elliot as he walked in. Elliot blinked, slightly shocked that Leo was actually both sitting up and talking. He walked over, carrying a few textbooks in his arms.

"Hello… How have you been…?" Elliot asked, quietly. Trying to make as little noise as possible.

"Surprisingly okay actually…" Leo smiled with a weak chuckle, resulting in a coughing fit, his smaller shoulders shaking.

"But…" He breathed with a shudder. "I was bored, so want to play chess or something?" He asked, tilting his head back, his bangs brushed away from his eyes, tucked behind his ears. Which was most certainly odd for Leo. He normally flat out refused to move his hair from his eyes, though he was willingly moving them away from his eyes. The gold lights slowly moving around in slow swirls.

"Sure but hey…" Elliot began, setting the books down, obviously it was whatever Leo had missed. Leo tilted his head.

"Do you _see_ those gold lights actually moving around or?" He asked, pure curiosity. He had wondered for a while. Just never asked. There was a lot he wanted to ask Leo about. Leo simply shook his head.

"I never really know what those damned lights are doing… Half the time I could care less with whatever they're doing… Though if they disappeared I would _greatly_ appreciate it…" He sighed and rubbed one of his eyes with a yawn.

"You don't normally ask me stuff like that…" Leo started… "Curiosity finally blossoming or something?" Leo teased sticking his tongue out playfully, completely forgetting he had a mask over half of his face. Elliot's eye twitched in slight irritation and was about to deny it, but he couldn't. Leo was one-hundred percent correct in what he said.

"Got anything else to ask me, curious cat?" Leo teased, tapping on the chess board on his lap.

 _Should I ask him? I mean it's not really my business but at the same time it is my business… Don't you tease me shorty… Curiosity isn't unusual… Wipe that smug ass look on your face, Leo, you aren't being witty or funny._

"Earth to Elllllliiiiiiioooooootttttt." Leo yawned with a smug smirk. Elliot broke out of his thoughts at Leo once again, and still teasing him.

"What?" He asked in slight irritation at his friend's smug look. _If you weren't like this, I'd probably wipe that damn look off your face…_ He paused from his thoughts. _….At least you're feeling better Leo…_ He was willing to admit it… Not out loud just yet though.

"We going play chess or are you going to sit there like a bump on a log? Come on, Elliot. This is longest I've been remotely conscious in weeks…" Leo mumbled with a pout, looking at Elliot.  
"Or do you want to ask something? You normally aren't this quiet unless you're either sleeping or debating on saying something…"

 _You are too damn quick to pick up on things Leo. You aren't an idiot…. Thankfully._

"Hell, you're louder than this while sleeping."

 _I would so punch you right now for that comment… You're safe for now…_ Elliot muttered in irritation at his comment _. I guess I better ask, or he'll pester me to hell and back…_

"There is something, actually." Elliot began, Leo looked up at him with his large, dark eyes. The gold lights seemingly reacting with a faster swirl.

"Do tell." Leo smiled softly, he had already set up the chess board three times already.

"It's something I never asked, and I probably should have before…"

"Go ooon, before you lose my attention..." Leo groaned, hating how long he was taking to say it. _You're boring me, Elliot. Boring me I say! You trying to do a love confession or something? Or are you just that slow?_ He sighed, crossing his arms. He could see Elliot got a little ticked at his comment.

"I never asked what your last name was… It seems that no one, including me, knows it." Elliot said, rather serious.

 _Wait. For real Elliot? All that dramatic build up for something I have no damned Idea about? Wow. Boring. Here I thought it was going to be interesting… Then again, watching the spider in the corner of the room has amused me recently…_

"You're right. No one, including me, knows it." Leo said flatly, mocking Elliot's voice when saying it.  
"If I knew it, surely I would have told you. I mean why wouldn't I have? I doubt I'd have anything to hide about it…." Leo raised an eyebrow at Elliot.  
"What? Think I'm a crook or something?" Leo smirked at him with a light laugh. _I'm not a crook. Just a slight asshole… Your fault Elliot. You bring out my inner asshole. That's why I throw tables and chairs at you… Oh my god how easily amused am I right now? Is this another fevered delusion? Whoop-dee-fucking-doo. Just what I need…. Why am I amused at my own thoughts…? They're way too jumbled to be proper… Anyways-_

"Leo." Elliot said with rising irritation. Leo jumped as he had been lost and semi-amused with his own thoughts.

 _RIGHT! Elliot is here… I kind of forgot about that… Sheesh how could I? He's so loud… Ehhh…._

"Now look who's spacing out."

"Okay, it's a mutual space out." Leo pouted, tapping the chess board. Elliot chuckled slightly at that.

"Can we play now before I either pass out from exhaustion or just get so bored with the spider in the corner? Because you're pretty damn boring right now. Also, ten dollars says I can put you in checkmate."

"Fine. Bring it on." Elliot challenged him.

"Checkmate in twelve moves." Leo snickered, his cheek resting on his hand. His black har covering half of his face, but he could care less.

"Two out of three." Elliot scowled at him.

"Awww… Elliot's a sore loser." Leo teased, poking at his in check king. Elliot lightly punched Leo's shoulder.

"Fine, I'll admit I lost. Here's your reward." Elliot smirked as he sat the books beside Leo. He blinked at the small stack of books.

"Hooray… Textbooks?" Leo questioned, losing interest, they weren't novels, and he didn't want these.

"Yeah. All the work you've missed." Elliot tapped the top of the books. Leo's look turned to a discouraged scowl.

"Naaaaah." Leo shrugged, resting his face on the books, and Elliot's hand.

"I'm not interested in these. They aren't novels… Or anything of close relevance…" Leo mock whined. He wanted to show Elliot that he shouldn't worry about him. Despite just how shitty he felt at the moment.

There was a silence between the two of them. Not an awkward silence, just a silence.

"Leo… Are you feeling okay?" Elliot asked after a bit, breaking the silence.

 _Don't. No. Just no, Elliot. Don't worry about me. Why bother? It's pointless to worry about me. I'll be fine so don't worry. Yeah I feel like complete shit but don't worry like geez-_

"Fine." Leo blatantly lied. But with a smile so it wasn't suspicious. Elliot caught it without a problem.

"Okay. Okay. Whatever you want to believe, Leo. You having your face against my hand was a dead giveaway. You have a fever." Leo didn't respond, or move his face from on top of Elliot's hand. He just kept his face there. _Sigh… I guess I can't fool Elliot… I wish I would just feel better already… It's been four weeks. I'm literally sick of this… Literally sick of being sick…_

"I'll be fine… So don't worry about-"

"Don't worry my ass… I get that you don't like someone worrying about you. But come on Leo, stop it for a while." Elliot sighed and pushed Leo up so he was sitting up.

"Let someone worry about you for once. I'm worrying about you because I care… Really… Déjà vu much because I feel like this is the third or fourth time I'm saying it in the last few weeks…" He sighed. Leo looked down, his hair slowly falling out from behind his ears.

"… Sorry… I just… I hate it… I'm not worth worrying about, I'll be fine…" Leo said quietly.

"You said you'd be fine, and you stopped breathing. Of course I'm going to worry." He moved Leo's bangs slightly so they weren't covering his eyes and he pressed his forehead against his.

"Let me worry about my friend. Okay?" Elliot said with a smile. Leo blinked before giving a small smile.

"I guess I'll let you…" Leo mumbled, shivering slightly.

"Good. Because you had no choice in the matter. Now sleep and get better… That's an order, okay?" Elliot smiled at Leo, his smile just cheered Leo up from his bad mood.

"Alright…" Leo nodded, hugging the blanket around his shoulders.

There was another small silence.

"But if you really want a best two out of three, Elliot." Leo smirked slightly.

"You still owe me a new pair of glasses." He added, tapping the chess board.

"I know I owe you replacement glasses. And I plan on getting them for you tomorrow. As for the chess… Bring it shorty." Elliot smirked, earning himself a smile from Leo. And quite the hard punch to his shoulder.

* * *

 _Word count: 1661_

 **AFTER AN: Wasn't that cute? (maybealittleoocbutimsorrytheyrehuman)**

 **Idk how many more chapters will come around. But for sure, more Pandora Hearts stuff will be around soon. I just write as fast as my mind thinks of cute ideas.**

 **Yey**

 **~Constructive criticism is always welcome~**

 **~Alyss**


	10. Chapter 10

**BEFORE AN: Have at it guys! This the longest and the last chapter! Please enjoy and leave comments! I adore reading them!**

 **~Alyss**

* * *

 **Little by little, a good phrase to use, especially with relationships, friendships, hardships, recoveries, knowledge, and so much more. Little by little can be used in nearly every context, as long as one remembers that if you take something slowly, you'll eventually get to the final product. If one rushes or attempts to pressure the final product, it may come out as sloppy or incomplete. Yes it gets done faster, but not as efficiently. For an example. If you are creating a large mural painting. You want it to look the absolute best. So you take your time on it so the final outcome is much better than it would be if you were to rush the mural to clean up some time. Spend a lot of time and yes, it may grow boring, but it will also become worthwhile. If you rushed a painting, it wouldn't look the best it could be as opposed to taking your time.**

Leo yawned and rubbed his eyes, he had been awake for several hours and thought that he should start on the work he had been missing for nearly five weeks. Thankfully enough, he no longer needed the mask on his face, as his lung was in much better shape than before. Reassuring for sure. It was roughly midnight, Elliot had left not too long ago back to their dorm so he could sleep. Leo took the opportunity to get some work done, he needed to do it after all.

"At least I know this stuff… Just missing some assignments and-"he yawned again. "A few worksheets…" He mumbled sleepily.

"Get some sleep if you keep yawning like that." Miranda said, crossing her arms and spinning on her chair slowly.  
"Your yawning is either going to put me to sleep or it'll be so annoying you'll awake the dead's slumber."

"Shut." Leo simply said, rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes again.  
"Missing nearly a month of school isn't exactly optimal… In fact it's a complete nuisance." He grumbled as he continued to write the assignment he was currently working on.

"God kiddo. I can wake you up tomorrow so you can work. Don't overwork yourself already." She rolled her eyes at Leo who was slowly nodding off as he was working. She frowned and got up, slapping the book shut and startling Leo back to reality somewhat.  
"Get some shut-eye. I'll wake you up tomorrow around ten so you can do more of this…"

Leo was already nodding off again, hugging the blanket over his shoulders, still wearing the sweater that Elliot had given him a while ago. He shrugged sleepily and curled up, falling asleep quickly.

 **Dreams are a reflection of what is both in our minds and in our hearts. What we see in dreams can either be a wish for reality, or a begging plea that it never happens. Not a single being can completely control what they are dreaming. Some constantly are plagued with what they wish never become a reality for fear of themselves or those they love and care about. While others have the strong desire for what they wish to become not just a figment of their imaginations. Dreams are very complex mazes of the heart and mind, attempting to lead us to conclusions or to trick themselves into believing false realities. Not all dreams have a happily ever after though. Who knows if the dreamer will even remember the horrid tragedies that occur? Or the fantasies they desire? No one can say for sure.**

" _Sorry Leo…"_

Leo's eyes snapped open, with fresh tears streaming down his cheeks. What had he dreamt about? He couldn't remember…. All he could remember was Elliot's voice saying 'sorry' to him.

"What the…. Hell…?" He shuddered and sat up. It was three in the morning. Whatever it was, it woke him up. He sighed and stretched his arms up, in the back of his mind he felt too scared to go back to sleep. _What for?_ He wondered, he hadn't stood up in a while. _Now would be a good time for that… My legs are super sore._ He sighed and slowly moved himself to the edge of the bed and stood up. As unbalanced as he was currently, he could still stand properly. He leaned against the wall and stretched completely, feeling some cracks in his body. _God when was the last time I stretched? Feels like forever…_

He turned to look at the clock again to make sure that the time he seen was correct; it was. He pulled a blanket off the bed and slowly walked, being careful of his balance. He walked over to the window and opened the curtain slightly. _Score! This window has a window seat!_ He smiled and hopped up on the window seat, pulling the blanket over his shoulders as he looked out at the bright moon illuminating the clear sky beautifully _. Now if I could draw, I'd love to draw this._ He chuckled quietly, bringing his knees to his chest and hugging his legs.

 _Dreams are… Weird… It's like we dream up false realities and worlds…_ He looked down out the window, observing the trees and grass slowly rustle with the wind. _Some what their dreams to be real…._ He hugged his knees and bit his lip slightly. _I hope mine never become a reality… No. They better not become a reality…_ He stopped when he realized he had tears running down his cheeks. _What has been with me lately?_ He rubbed his eyes. _It's impossible for dreams to become a reality… They're just our imaginations running wild from being suppressed… Mine needs to stop running so hectically…_

He opened the window ever so slightly to feel the air outside he smiled and hugged Elliot's sweater and the blanket. His dark eyes slowly scanning the outside. _I really want to go for a walk… It looks like a fantastic night… It isn't too cold either… Know what? I will… I need a walk, I haven't done much walking for a month…_ He closed the window and slid off the window seat. He threw the blanket back on the bed and did up Elliot's sweater. He brushed some hair away from his face. No one was out at this time, so he didn't have to worry about anyone seeing his eyes. He slowly approached the door leading out to the halls of the school and opened it.

 _Fifteen minutes to a half an hour is all I need… Then I'll come back…_ He smiled softly and walked quietly throughout the hallway towards the outside doors for the courtyard. He glanced around, as if seeing if someone was around. _No one's around, Leo. It's three in the damn morning._ He scolded himself quickly and opened the door. He smiled brightly when he felt the night air and wind brush against him. He walked around, feeling the grass against his bare feet _. Socks might've been a good idea. The grass is kind of cold…_ He mumbled to himself. It was cold enough to see his breath, but nowhere near an unbearable cold. He walked to a bench and sat down, lying on his back and looking up at the very clear stars in the sky.

"Such a clear and beautiful night…" Leo smiled. "October isn't normally this nice…" He commented to no one other than himself. He hadn't kept track of the days, he just knew it was October. He smiled and enjoyed looking at the stars for quite some time before he caught himself slowly dozing off. _I should probably go back now. Sleeping out here would do me no good at all…_ He stood up and shivered _. It got colder I think… Or maybe it's just me…_ He shrugged and walked back towards the doors, opening it and stepping back into the silent hallways. As he trudged back, he looked at the walls for a clock to tell him how long he was outside for. Four-fifty in the morning. _Shit! I actually dozed off out there… I said half hour at most and I was almost out there for an hour… Good job, Leo._ He scolded himself quietly and returned to where he had been the past month, the damned Infirmary. He slowly opened the door, by the time he got back, it was five in the morning. He shrugged and sat back on the bed he had been sleeping on.

"At least I got a nice walk in…" He stretched his arms, heaving his shoulders crack.

"I really needed that… That was good… Some nice fresh air instead of being cooped up in here…" He yawned, being out in the nice night air actually made him drowsy enough to fall back asleep.

He awoke once more, but not from a nightmare, but to the light shining through the window, from the curtains he never closed. He rolled over and yawned, rubbing his eyes. He checked for the clock, it read eight-thirty seven in the morning. He didn't hear chatter and shuffling in the hallways, it must've been the weekend. He yawned again and sat up, grabbing a book from the small stack he had beside the bed and began to read. Being that it was (most likely) a weekend day, Miranda would show up around noon. He had time to read in peace before that woman barged in bombarding the silence with nonsense.

He got so immersed in his reading that the next time he looked up, it was nearly two in the afternoon. _Wow. I didn't even realize it was that late…_ Leo commented to himself before he noticed another thing. Miranda hadn't shown up, at all. Neither had Elliot. He pouted slightly and got up, walking over to the window seat and sitting up there. Looking at all the autumn colours and the leaves on the ground shining bright and colourful.

 _I'm not bothered by it, it's just for how Elliot's been recently… I'm surprised he hasn't shown up. Or maybe he wore himself out and is still sleeping._ Leo snickered to himself and went back to reading, the blanket over his legs and his book resting on it. _I know I tend to go 'out of this world' when I read… But I do notice people around me. So that can't be it. Neither of them have shown… Good! I can read in silence!_ He smiled softly and went back to reading the book he was already nearly done.

He sighed and closed the book, looking to the clock. Four in the afternoon. _Okay I wasn't bothered before, but I am now. As much as I enjoy reading in peace and quiet. I'm damn lonely right now. I've literally read all these books at least three times now._ He pouted slightly, looking at the stack of books that he had indeed read through three times over. He looked back out and seen some leaves raked in piles and some students outside, chatting and such. _Wait a damn second… I should be so used to being by myself… I did it for most of my life… Argh!_ He scowled and swung his legs around and stood up.

 _I'M. FREAKING. BORED!_ He groaned and flopped on the bed. _Why doesn't Miranda keep a calendar in here? I don't even know what freaking day it is… I know its fall. I now it's October. I can venture to guess it's either Saturday or Sunday. But the number? No damn clue. Sheeeeeeeeeeeeesh!_ He sighed and rolled onto his stomach. Picking up one of the textbooks. _Might as well do some more work, so I have it done…_ He sighed and started on what he had been dozing off to the previous night.

He shut the textbook, finishing all that Elliot brought him as work. He glanced at the clock. Five thirty. He groaned and dropped his head into the pillow. _God, I don't think I've ever been this freaking bored!_  
Leo sat up and looked around. He was still the only person in the room. He groaned and pushed the books off of the bed and laid on his back. After fifteen minutes of staring at the ceiling he sat up and crossed his arms. Going back to the window seat.

"I'm booooooooooooooooooored!" He whined to no one, just to exhale some boredom. He heard the doorknob click and he perked up slightly. Elliot appeared in the doorway, holding a few bags in one arm.

"I was bored you loser, what took you so long?" Leo pouted and mumbled to Elliot. He gave Leo a look of 'shut up before I make you' and walked over.

"I got you two new pairs of glasses." Elliot said, sitting a small wrapped up package on the bed.

"What are you doing anyways?" He asked, Leo sighed and slumped on the small window seat.

"I've been bored out of my skull. I've finished all the work. I've read all those books three times over that I think I could quote half of them. And I've wandered around this room aimlessly like a lost child because I am _that_ bored." Leo huffed and crossed his arms with a pout. Elliot chuckled.

"The hell is so funny, blondie?" Leo scowled, he was truly bored, and Elliot just showed up at six. He wasn't in a bad mood, he was just bored.

"One, shut up shorty. Two, I've been out getting stuff, that's why I haven't shown up until now. Besides, when I stopped by at eight, you were fast asleep." Elliot retorted to Leo.

 _He actually sounds like himself and he's acting like himself…_

Leo responded to Elliot with another pout. Elliot chuckled at that and reached into a bag he had been holding.

"I also got us a chess board. Maybe the Librarian will get off our backs now." Elliot smiled a bit. Setting it down on the bed as well.

"I forgot it was from the Library…" Leo commented.

"Yeah, she's been on my ass about how I haven't brought it back. I can give it back now." He sighed, sitting down on the end of the bed.

"Also, nice way to say hello." Elliot said sarcastically. Leo chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"Hell you missed my insults. Don't try to lie." Leo snickered, brushing some hair away from his face. As much as Elliot didn't want to admit it. He did. He missed hearing Leo make such snappy comments that made him want to punch the shorter teen for it. He did miss it.

"Oh. Here." Elliot said, tossing a box at Leo, he fumbled and caught it. _An Eclair? Really Elliot…?_

Leo raised an eyebrow at Elliot.

"Aaaaaand this is for?" Leo asked sceptically.

"Howes said you should be good, so this is a 'Congratulations on finally leaving the Infirmary' or something." Elliot shrugged.

"I thought you'd like one. It should still be fresh, I mean I got it on the way back. If you don't want it, I'll eat it." He added with a sigh.

Leo had already bitten into it and had eaten half.

"Hell no. I'm damn hungry, 'sides. It's a pastry. Why would I even consider turning it down?" Leo mumbled between the Éclair and his breathing. Elliot chuckled with a nod. Leo held the pastry in his mouth and opened the window, letting the fresh air waft into the room.

"Man it seems nice out." Leo commented on the pleasant breeze that came into the room. He had devoured the pastry like a piece of candy.

"It is. Want to go for a walk?" Elliot offered. Leo blinked and shifted the book off his lap.

"Maybe in a bit… I want to at least finally go back to our dorm. I've been in here so long I think I've forgotten what a comfy bed feels like." Leo sighed and tilted his head back a bit.

"The beds here are suuuuuuuper uncomfortable… And I was on one of them for a freaking month…" He added in an annoyed tone and stood from the window seat. He went over to the bed and grabbed the books beside it.

"Well, if I'm good to go, then let's go. I'm sick of this room." Leo said, holding the books and the small, wrapped up glasses.

He and Elliot walked back up to their dorm. Leo immediately went over and flopped on his be.

"This is like heaven! So much better than the beds in the Infirmary…" Leo smiled happily and laid there for a bit.

"Well it's good to have you back in here you idiot." Elliot said, sitting on his bed.

"Well it's good to be back here you idiot." Leo retorted, sticking his tongue out at Elliot.

"Is that… Have you seriously not taken off my sweater since I gave it to you?" Elliot asked, raising an eyebrow at his sweater on Leo.

"It kept me warm. The blankets did a crap job at that…" Leo said simply, changing into something that wasn't his pyjamas. Just some casual clothes.

"I seemed to sleep better with it anyways…" Leo said before freezing, realizing he said that out loud.

"Keep it then." Elliot said simply with a smile, still sitting on his bed.

"Huh? It's yours though." Leo responded, blinking in slight confusion. Why did Elliot want him to keep it?

"If one of my sweaters actually kept you sleeping through the whole night. Keep it. Sleeping through the night needs to become a habit of yours." Elliot said once again with a smile. Leo blinked again before smiling at Elliot.

"If you say it's okay. Then I will keep it." He responded to him with a bright smile.

"Now! I want to go for a walk before it gets colder out." He added and propped a pair of the new glasses on his face. _I missed wearing these…_

Elliot stood and walked to the door, Leo following behind him. Still wearing Elliot's sweater. They walked down the hallways, few students wandering the halls.

Elliot opened the door for the front of the school as he walked outside. Before his attention went to Leo when he heard him chuckle.

"What is it?" He asked. Leo smiled and walked up beside him.

"I wasn't worried, so you shouldn't have been~" He smiled up at Elliot, keeping up with his walking pace.

"What?" He questioned.

"I got better little by little, there was really no need to worry… I wasn't worrying for myself." He smiled in response, stretching his arms over his head with a deep breath.

"What are you trying to say? That I was stupid to worry about my friend?" Elliot scowled at Leo, he laughed and shook his head.

"No, not at all! I was just saying that you shouldn't have been worrying as much as you were!" Leo grinned and walked a bit ahead of him, spinning around to face Elliot.

"But… Thank you Elliot. Thank you for caring enough about me to worry about me. It really makes me feel like I matter to someone… So…" Leo smiled and looked up to Elliot with a large grin, propping his glasses on his forehead.

"Thank you! Thank you so much." He smiled happily at Elliot.

"Are you trying to be sarcastic?" Elliot questioned. Leo laughed and shook his head.

"Nah, if I was I'd be doing a much better job! I really am thankful… For you worrying about me… For caring about me… And all in all, for just wanting to have me around. I really and truly am thankful for you." Leo smiled at him, Elliot felt a small blush creep up on his cheeks. Leo chuckled and walked up to him, flicking his nose with a smile.

"You're my best friend. And I'm glad to be with you."

"Don't go all sappy like that! It's gross!" Elliot blushed and looked away from Leo, who was laughing.

"Awww come on Elliot! You need a little sap in your life! Might as well be from me!" Leo said with smile and a chuckle, moving his glasses back onto his face.

"What's that? Is that a blush I see? Did I appeal to the sensitive side of _the_ Elliot Nightray?" Leo teased, grinning at him and poking his cheek.

"Damn it you! Stop that!" Elliot huffed, shoving his shoulder a bit.

"That's so cute! I did appeal to that side! How nice!" Leo laughed, not caring about the shove he got from Elliot.

 _This is much better… I'm glad Leo is back to normal. I'm glad he's better, but shorty you better shut up with your remarks or I will fight you…_

 **Little by little, it's a wonderful phrase to use. Especially when it revolves around those who need it.**

* * *

 _Word Count: 3469_

 **FINAL AUTHORS NOTE: That was the last Chapter of Little By Little (Yes! I finally came up with a title.)**

 **I want to say that 90% of the time of writing these chapters; I was listening to Afterlife by Avenge Sevenfold. Which somewhat hurt my soul... Oops, I forgot. I sold that years ago.**

 **So anyways, I hope you enjoyed Little By Little, I truly enjoyed writing it for sure~!**

 **I always love reading what people think of what I do. (Though it's been for art and acting before now.)**

 **~Constructive criticism is always welcome~**

 **I bid you all adieu until my next fanfiction!**

 **~Alyss**


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